Operations

Party Bus Operating Illegally At Time of Fatal Fall

KANSAS CITY, Kansas — It turns out the party bus involved with the fatal accident in Kansas City where passenger Jamie Frecks tumbled out of the double doors that had flown open as the vehicle rounded a corner and encountered a bump, was operating without a Department of Transportation number or business license.

“It’s appalling this vehicle was permitted to operate for two years,” says Jim Hall, a transportation safety consultant and former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

To obtain a Department of Transportation number, an operator must carry proper insurance and meet safety requirements, which include maintaining records of vehicle maintenance and inspection.

Because the Midnight Express party bus did not have a DOT number, there is no way to confirm whether any inspections ever occurred before Frecks fell to her death.

The doors were constructed to accommodate an electric wheelchair lift, which the owners had removed after purchasing the bus and renovating it for entertainment travel. The “door ajar” warning system is also reported to not have been working at the time of the accident.